Archive for the ‘Micronesia’ Category

Palau is my ideal tropical vacation spot. Our 2007 visit was a trip of a lifetime. More than a few times, when I was there, I would pause to savor the moment and commit to memory some of the beauty I couldn’t capture in a photo. Especially the unbelievable night sky with stars so close I felt I could reach out and touch them.

Heading to one of the outer islands

Seems every time it rains, there’s a rainbow

Kayaking

Racing the rain in Palau

The Milky Way lagoon is a natural spa treatment which is supposed to make you look 10 years younger. I’m due to go back soon! The white mud felt great ~ cool and soothing.

Early morning swim

Beautiful arch

Morning at the dock

One of the best kisses ever!

Dolphins

Gorgeous, colorful mural at the community college

Cocktail hour (for me at least)

Sunset in Palau

Another beautiful Palau Sunset

Ah, a great place for a hammock

Palau consists of approximately 340 islands across 400 miles of the North Pacific Ocean. There’s a small population of only 21, 186. In 1994, after three decades being under the U.S., the Republic of Palau became one of the youngest nations in the world. The official language is Palauan but English is spoken everywhere. If you get a chance to go, GO!

Two years ago, we were spending the President’s Day weekend in Palau. From Guam, Palau is only a two hour flight and had we stayed longer than one year in Guam, I would have gone back to Palau as often as possible. For a beachbum, it IS paradise.

On our way to the Rock Islands:

Favorite Girl at the “Milky Way”:

Touring the Rock Islands:

All last week, I searched Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz for a cheap getaway to Puerto Rico, St Thomas, Orlando and Charleston but all flights/hotels were too much for just a couple days. So instead, we’re embracing the winter and heading further north. We’ll be stimulating the Canadian economy this weekend…

None of us wanted to say goodbye to Palau ~ we still had a few things we wanted to do and see. On our last night, we enjoyed a beautiful sunset dinner.At the end of our trips, we like to recap a list of highlights, top five and what surprised us the most. For me, I didn’t expect quite so many eastern European tourists. We also ran into quite a few German visitors but I expected that since the website for Palau had the choice of English, Japanese or German.Another thing that was a little unexpected was that they drive on the left side of the road but most of their cars come from Japan so the steering wheel is on the RIGHT. The roads were pretty narrow,and more than once, I held my breath thinking we were going to hit someone walking/running on the road. It was a little crazy.We decided on our own top THREE favorites:FG:
3) Milky Way and the white goop
2) Kayaking and snorkeling at Risong Bay
1) Dolphin Encounter

FM:
3) Snorkeling at the Big Drop-Off (seeing the shark)
2) Dolphin Encounter
1) Breakfast on the beach each morning with the family